An Aerial View travel guide
Do you need to apply before you fly?
A growing number of African countries now ask you to apply for entry permission online before you travel, even without a visa. Miss it and you can be turned away at boarding.
We track what each scheme actually asks for, so you can sort it out before you book, not after.
Needs one
Seychelles
Compulsory for everyone
Needs nothing
Rwanda
Visa on arrival, no pre-travel step
🇸🇱 Sierra Leone
None (for African Union citizens), visa on arrival covers all AU nationals
None (for African Union citizens), visa on arrival covers all AU nationals
Beyond ECOWAS free movement, Sierra Leone extends visa on arrival to African Union citizens generally: free for Botswana, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi and Mauritius, and USD25 for other AU nationals. Only non-AU nationalities are directed to an e-Visa. This resolves the earlier 'not verified' status, no pre-travel authorisation is required of African travellers.
It's required for nothing before travel for AU nationals; an e-Visa for non-AU nationalities.
The fee is USD 25.
Good to know
TERTIARY sourcing (Wikipedia), a strong candidate for reclassification once confirmed against a primary government source, since it suggests Sierra Leone is materially more open to Africans than 'ECOWAS-only' entries elsewhere in this tracker.
Sources
- Protocol A/P.1/5/79 relating to Free Movement of Persons, Residence and EstablishmentEconomic Community of West African States
- Country scores and rankings, 2025African Development Bank / African Union Commission
- Sierra Leone visa on arrival for African Union citizensWikipedia compilation of Sierra Leone immigration rules
Still confirming: Confirm the fee list and free-VOA country list directly with Sierra Leonean immigration; Whether any online pre-registration is required alongside the on-arrival process
Checked 2026-08-15.
All 54 countries we cover
- Algeria
- Angola
- Benin
- Botswana
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cabo Verde
- Cameroon
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Comoros
- Congo
- Côte d'Ivoire
- Djibouti
- DR Congo
- Egypt
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Eswatini
- Ethiopia
- Gabon
- Ghana
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Kenya
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Libya
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Mali
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Rwanda
- São Tomé and Príncipe
- Senegal
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- Somalia
- South Africa
- South Sudan
- Sudan
- Tanzania
- The Gambia
- Togo
- Tunisia
- Uganda
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Travelling somewhere not listed yet?
We're adding new countries as we confirm the details. Join the Aerial View community and we'll let you know as new destinations, trips and travel guides go live.
Explore Aerial ViewRules change without much notice, and we recheck each one on its own schedule. Last updated 2026-09-19. This page is a starting point for planning, not legal or immigration advice, always confirm with the destination country before you travel.
Curious about the numbers behind the destinations? See Tourism at a Glance. Not sure what you can pack? See what you can't carry across Africa.